UK urged to match EU rules on antibiotic-fed livestock

Campaigners are urging the UK government to ban imports of meat, dairy and eggs produced using antibiotics as growth promoters, warning that British farmers could be undercut by products made to lower standards.

The Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics said the UK should follow new EU rules due to take effect in September, which will prohibit imports of animal products produced using antibiotic growth promoters.

The group said aligning with the EU would help protect public health while ensuring UK farmers are not forced to compete with imports produced using practices that have been banned in Britain and the EU since 2006.

Antibiotics are used in livestock farming to treat and control bacterial disease, but their use to accelerate animal growth has long been banned due to concerns over antimicrobial resistance.

The World Health Organization has described antibiotic resistance as one of the world’s major public health and development threats.

ASOA said some countries exporting animal products to the UK and EU still allow antibiotics to be used for growth promotion, creating a gap between domestic and imported production standards.

Cóilín Nunan, of the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics, said: “Extending the EU’s ban on antibiotic growth promotion will help protect public health and shield farmers from unfair competition.

“The UK government needs to implement a similar ban, to protect its consumers and farmers.”

He said negotiations over a new UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement provided an opportunity for Britain to align with European standards on antibiotic use in livestock production.

ASOA said the EU’s incoming rules are already influencing standards overseas, with Brazil recently banning several medically important antibiotics, including avoparcin, bacitracin and virginiamycin, as growth promoters in animal feed.

Mr Nunan said: “Brazil’s move to ban several antibiotic growth promoters shows that when the EU insists on high standards for access to its market, other countries are encouraged to lift their standards.”

However, campaigners said some antibiotics not currently classified as medically important continue to be permitted as growth promoters in Brazil.

The Alliance said equivalent UK import rules would help support domestic producers, protect consumers and reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance spreading through the food chain.